Night Terrors
by starsofimagination
Summary: This wasn't the first time Mary had been woken up by John's night terrors.


A/N: So I wrote this in about an hour as a request for a friend. So yea, here you go.

The creaking of the mattress was the first thing that began to wake Mary. The second was a foot kicking into her calf. The third and final thing that woke Mary from her slumber was the sound of her boyfriend crying out in his sleep.

Mary said up in bed, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she look over to her right where John was restlessly sleeping. He was thrashing around in his sleep, whimpering and groaning. Mary frowned, knowing exactly what was the cause of his night terrors. She and John had only been together for about 5 months, but she knew all about John's time in the army...and Sherlock.

She was sure that's what was causing tonight's episode. He was in bad shape when she first met him. She had seen her fair share of darkness in the world, but the darkness that plagued John was something she didn't see very often. But of course, witnessing one's best friend jump off a building, killing himself would put anyone in a dark place.

John's depression was bad. Mary knew that and saw that first hand, but he was getting better. He had been seeing a therapist for a bit, and when that didn't help, he turned to her. Mary had been with him through it all. She held him in his sleep. She allowed him to sob into her shoulder while she rubbed soothing circles into his back. She listened every time he needed to talk. Mary had become his rock and transformed his dark world into one filled with a little more light.

But tonight had been a particular hard night. The anniversary of Sherlock's death was coming up within the next month. It would be 2 years since he jumped off the roof of the hospital. John spent the evening in with her, talking about his time with Sherlock. She admired the friendship the two men had. There was no doubt in her mind that they had loved each other and needed each other.

The memories were sure to creep up in John's sleep, causing his PTSD to act up once more and give him terrible night terrors. It wasn't the first time she had witnessed them. The first time they shared a bed together he had an episode. He had cried out in his sleep, waking Mary, and almost knocking her out of bed when he kicked her hip. She woke him up immediately only to have him sob into her chest, explaining everything and apologizing over and over again. Mary didn't return to sleep that night. She just held him, humming softly so that he would fall back asleep. He didn't wake up again that night and slept soundly.

Mary was brought from her thoughts when John groaned loudly. She gently laid a hand on his forehead and brushed back his hair. "Shhhh it's alright," she said softly. "It's only a dream. You're safe."

The light contact woke John almost immediately. He jumped slightly and sat up, breathing heavily. "Mary," he panted. "Did I...I didn't hurt you did I?"

"Just a small kick in the calf. Nothing painful," Mary said softly. "Are you okay?"

John swallowed and nodded. "It was that day. I saw him jumping again. Only this time I saw him hit the pavement. It was terrible. I tried to stop him Mary. I couldn't get to him in time. It was all my fault."

Mary wrapped her arms around him. "It was only a dream," she said softly. "It wasn't your fault. You couldn't have stopped him. It wasn't your fault."

He buried his face in her neck and wrapped his arms around her tightly. "I know," he breathed against her skin. "I know." He went quiet for a bit. "Thanks...for being here."

"You don't need to thank me," Mary softly responded. "I do it because I care and I love you."

"I love you too," he whispered as he sat up. He smiled and cupped her cheek before kissing her. "What would I do without you?"

She didn't answer. She only smiled and kissed him again. "Try to get back to sleep. We have to get for work in the morning. I'll be right here if you need me."

John nodded and laid back down in bed, an arm wrapped around Mary's middle. Mary wrapped her own arm around him as he cuddled into her chest. Her hand went from his back to his hair stroking it softly. She began to hum a soft melody as he drifted off into a much more peaceful sleep.


End file.
